Public finance theory constitutes a vast area of study of the fiscal environment in which local governments act. One of the key modern hazards afflicting the financial stability of those economic agents has been referred to as fiscal stress. Although the definition of this phenomenon presents one with no considerable cognitive difficulties, an optimal technique for measuring it remains a considerable issue for ongoing research. The aim of this paper is to discuss briefly the key features which descriptive formulae of fiscal stress should involve and to propose an aggregation method, based on the exponential weighted average, which facilitates an impromptu assessment of an agent’s fiscal conditions. Pivotal interpretations of some empirical results are outlined to elucidate the issues under consideration.
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